A Harvest Moon Story
by pinklover101
Summary: This is the story of Karen  brown-haired girl from HMDS Cute. It starts at her birth and goes from there.
1. Chapter 1

** Hi! Okay, I'm really excited about this because, well, it's my very first real fanfic (the others didn't work)! Okay, I know when I read fanfics, author's always blab on and on and I would be like "SHUT UP ALL READY!" So, here it is, hope you enjoy it! I don't own Harvest Moon by the way.**

It was a bright fall day, September 28th to be exact. The wind was crisp and the blue sky made the trees explode in a light show of yellows, oranges, and reds in the quaint little town of Forget-me-not Valley.

The sun shone warmly on a little farm with bright fields of corn, golden wheat, and huge pumpkins.

Inside the farmhouse, a man with dark brown hair and green eyes in his mid-twenties paced back and forth in the living room below the stairs, looking up every few minutes, yelling, "Is she okay?"

There was always the answering, "Yes, she's just fine."

Upstairs, there was the hustle and bustle of a baby being born as a woman (also in her mid-twenties) gripped the hand of a woman about 55 and yelled through clenched teeth.

Back downstairs, the man heard his wife's last yell of pain, and a new one. An infant **His** child. His baby. A girl? A boy? Oh how he'd hoped for a boy. A boy to teach to grow crops and ride horses and raise livestock. One who would love sports and the outdoors and all the things boys loved. Someone he could be a role model to.

Grace though, his wife had said it was a girl. She had craved strawberries, milk chocolate, and fresh apple pie. But he loved all those things, so it could be a boy, just the same. What was it? He was dying to know.

"Mark, You can come up now." Said a man in his fifties, coming down, and wiping his hands on his doctor's coat.

Mark raced up the stairs with a brief "Thank you Dr. Hardy." And into the master bedroom to find his wife, Grace, cradling a tiny, pink bundle and smiling softly.

"Oh my." He breathed.

"It's a healthy baby girl!" Said Nina, the midwife.

A wave of disappointment he was expecting never came. Only a tsunami of pride and happiness. Satisfaction and joy.

He walked over and peered down at his new little girl. She looked up at him and cooed. She grabbed his finger with her tiny hands and laughed.

Grace, the baby's mother, was very beautiful, with honey-coloured hair, eyes that were the same as her daughter's, a deep violet, and slightly tanned skin. She was kind and gentle, a city girl who never minded farm life, enjoyed it, in fact. And she was desperately in love with her husband. All her dreams were fulfilled now, because she had her perfect little family: husband, daughter, and herself.

"She's perfect." He praised, admiring the thin layer of chocolate brown fuzz on her head and shining violet eyes that sparkled with the pure joy of being alive.

"What shall we name her?" Mark asked, his voice radiated pride.

"We could call her Karen, after your great, great, great grandmother. Without her, I wouldn't have you." Suggested Grace, taking his hand.

"Karen, yes, it suits her. I love it." Said Mark as he took his new baby in his arms. Little Karen yawned and he sighed. "Beautiful Karen."

** Hi again! I know this chapter was short, and the next few ones will probably be too. Sorry! Leave lots of reviews! BTW, please don't swear in the reviews. It just bothers me. Thanx!**


	2. Chapter 2

** Hi! Well, here's the second chapter. I made the years have months by the way, and I'm stretching out her growing up a bit. I just fell like doing that. Well, here it is. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own harvest Moon.**

"Karen, where have you gotten to now?" asked Mark, looking around frantically. One minute, his five-year-old daughter had been waiting for him to help her plant her own garden. The next, she was nowhere to be found.

"Over here Daddy! In the stable!" Karen called.

Of course. She loved it in there. He walked in and found her stroking and gently talking to his dapple-grey horse, Jake.

"When can I learn to ride horses?" asked Karen dreamily.

"When you're a little older sweetheart. Now let's start on that new gar- uh, those _crops_ of yours." he replied as Jake nickered in blissful pleasure.

"Yay! My crops! Bye-bye Jake! Be good, I'll see you later!" said Karen in a singsong voice as she took her father's hand and skipped out of the stable.

Flashforwardthreeyearsandacouplemonths:

"Whoa! Daddy, I'm not sure I can do this!" Karen said nervously as she held tight to Jake's reigns and wobbled slightly in the saddle.

"Don't worry sweetie. I can already see that you're a natural. And if you fall, which is _very_ unlikely, I'll catch you." Mark assured her as he led Jake along.

A month and a half later, Karen, her father Jake, and a white horse named Stardust were racing down the path towards Vesta's farm, Karen laughing hysterically as she pulled ahead of her father.

Karen and Celia talked crops and animals, while Karen's father bought seeds from Vesta. The girls talked and Celia showed her vegetable garden.

Sixyearslater:

A 13 year old Karen delivered her first animal; a small, unsteady filly that was light brown with a messy chocolate brown mane and tail and a white splotch on her forehead.

Karen giggled with delight as the filly's skinny legs buckled under her has she tried to walk.

'Oh Daddy! She's got to be the most beautiful thing in the whole world!" Karen said, breathless with amazement as they sat in the warmth of the stable.

"Well that's probably to be expected. Her mother Ginger" (A pretty palomino mare) "is one of the best looking horses I've ever raised. And isn't Jake the best stallion we know? You delivered her all by yourself too!" Said her dad, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Jake is the father? That makes her even more special!" Karen squealed, startling Ginger, "Sorry girl."

"Yep, she'll go for a real good price." He said, and his best beloved daughter gasped in shock.

"Daddy no! You can't! It's not like we really _need_the money. Please let me keep her Daddy! I've always wanted my own horse, and she's so perfect! Please Daddy, I'm begging you!" She pleaded, "I'll train her my self! Pa-leese!"

"Well, I don't know sweetie." Said Mark.

As if on que, the little horse stumbled over, nuzzled Karen, and let her kiss her on the nose and hug her around the neck.

At that moment, Ruby walked in. She'd wanted to buy a chicken for a special dinner at the inn, and Grace had told her that they were in the stable. "Well, did you ever see a more perfect pair?" she chuckled.

"See?" Said Karen desperately.

"Well, I suppose, if you love her that much." Said her father. And as Karen hugged and thanked him profusely, Ruby smiled.

"Mark, if she wanted the whole farm, you'd give it to her in a second. All she'd need to do is put on those big, puppy dog eyes that the boys find so irresistible." She just had to say the last part.

It was true. The whole valley knew it. Karen was mark's absolute pride and joy. And she was the prettiest thing the lovesick schoolboys had ever seen. So much for wanting a boy.

In two months, the barn cat, Mary Joe, had five kittens. Karen wasn't as strong willed about keeping them because Mary Joe had had kittens before and Karen always got to keep the money they were sold for (25G each).

There was one kitten though, just an average kitten, nothing special about it, that Karen especially liked.

He was a black male with a white chest, paws, and tail tip. He just seemed different to her, and she felt that this was the cat for her. One look with the puppy dog eyes and he was hers.

"You're a good boy aren't you Socks? Such a good little kitty." She would scratch under his chin as her curled up on her bed at night.

**Hi!****Well,****that****chapter****was****a****lot****longer****than****I****thought****it****would****be.****But****that****'****s****good****right?****I****hope****so.****Thanks****so****much****to****the****people****who****reviewed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey!****How****R****U****guys?****I****'****m****just****typing****a****bunch,****so****there****'****s****probably****gonna****few****more****chapters****up****soon.****And****I****don****'****t****know****what****happened****with****the****spacing****in****chapter****2.****Sorry****about****that!:)**

**Disclaimer: I own the character Mason, but not Harvest Moon.**

"Wake up sweetie!" Karen's mother woke her one Saturday morning at 8:00 am.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled.

"I'm 15 today," she whispered to herself, and her smile got wider.

She quickly got up, brushed her teeth and hair. She dressed especially nice too. She put on a white, short sleeve dress that ended at the knees and flared out a little. She put a pink silk ribbon through the belt loops and tied her thick chocolate brown hair into a ponytail with another.

She strode confidently downstairs where her parents were waiting for her.

"Good morning Karen. Happy birthday." her father hugged her tight and her mother did the same.

"Thanks Daddy. Thanks Mama." she said, sitting down to breakfast.

The tradition was that however old she was, she would get that many chocolate chip dollar pancakes for breakfast, until she was 18 and moved out. So she happily chewed on her breakfast and thought of the events to come.

Around 11:00 am, the guests started arriving. Celia and Marlin came first, Celia put her present on the table, along with Marlin's card. Next came Nami and Rock. They put their presents with the others, and before 12:00 pm, everyone was there.

When Karen opened her presents, Celia's was a silver bracelet with half a heart that had "best" engraved on one side. Celia held up her arm to reveal the other half with "friends" shimmering on hers.

She opened Nami's, and there was an older leather-bound book underneath the wrapping paper, titled "Romeo and Juliet". The play she'd wanted to read since she was 12.

Rock's, typically, was a signed picture of himself, and Marlin's card said, "Celia made me come. Just kidding. Happy birthday." Plus 50G.

Lumina gave her a diamond and god necklace, and all Karen could do when she saw it was stutter a small thank you.

"Oh it's nothing really. I hoped the diamond wasn't too small. It's not is it?" Lumina asked in all sincerity. Karen replied that it wasn't.

The last present was from her parents; a big box that she was sure hadn't been there before. She opened it and a golden lab puppy, wriggling and excited, jumped put and started licking her face.

"Oh my gosh! You got me a puppy? It's, wait, _she__'__s_ adorable! Oh, I'm going to call her Honey! She's so sweet! I mean, look at her fur! It's the same colour as honey!" Karen went on and on, and soon all the girls had joined in.

"She's so cute!" they chorused, and even on the boys smiled and agreed.

Just then, Karen heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. Honey barked as it opened.

There was a man with tanned skin and dark brown hair and hazel eyes smiling down at her. Standing beside him was a boy who looked about her age, if a little taller. The two looked the same except for a purple bandana on the boy's head and a slightly shocked expression on his face.

She was struck speechless by the boy's deep brown eyes and the relaxed smile that quickly replaced the shock.

"Uh, hello." She mumbled.

**Kay,****I****just****had****an****idea****that****I****'****m****not****sure****is****good****or****not,****but****I****'****m****gonna****do****it****anyway.****This****is****going****to****be****how****Kai****sees****the****moment.****(The****boy****is****Kai****in****case****you****didn****'****t****guess****it****already):**

"Here we are son. This is Mark, my old friend's farm. His daughter is 15 today, a year younger than you. We're in the valley so I thought we'd drop by. Here. You can give her this, it's only polite." Said Mason, Kai's father that he'd been traveling around with for the past week.

Kai wasn't' too thrilled about this. He'd never liked girls much, especially ones his age. They were too dramatic and overemotional and, if you were unlucky, they were clingy. _Let__'__s__just__get__this__over__with__and__go__home._ He sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

Kai's father knocked on the door and a girl, obviously the birthday girl, answered it. She had on a white dress with a pink belt. She had these eyes too; a violent violet, filled with defiance and understanding and too many emotions to count.

"Hello." She said in a voice that sounded like bells and that beautiful young singer he loved and the summer breeze blowing through the trees all at once, and Kai forgot all about not liking girls.

**Kay,****back****to****Karen****again.****(So****sorry.****That****was**_**way**_**too****sappy,****but****I****couldn****'****t****resist.)****:)**

"Mason! How are you man?" said Mark, coming up and slapping the man on the back, "this cant' be Kai! This kid's much too tall!" Mason laughed at this.

"Good to see you Mason." Said Grace, walking up to the group.

"I'm doing just fine, but there's no way this girl is Karen. She's way too grown up!" Mason said happily, "the last time I saw you, you were only this tall." He held his hand at knee height.

Karen just smiled at this and re directed her attention to the boy. Kai… it was a nice name. And very original.

The adults talked more; Karen and Kai were introduced, and the two went back to the party.

Karen's parents took Mason to look at how much the farm had changed, and Rock, the terrible perverted flirt he was, even back then, put his arm around Karen's waist, pulling her close.

"So Karen sweetie, is your dad finally letting you start dating? Because you're looking just delectable today." He whispered in her ear just loud enough for people to hear. _Ew.__Delectable?_ She made a face. Kai looked horrified as well (Oh my gosh, I didn't think… He thought).

She blushed a deep shade of crimson, but was determined to keep her cool, if only for her guests.

"Rock, because I'm a good person, I'll give you some advice: stop with the gross flirting and get away from me before Daddy comes back and rips your arm off." She said calmly.

Rock seemed to consider this, and, because he was fond of his arm, he withdrew quickly.

Every one chuckled, some comments were made about Karen: 1, Perverted Flirt: 0. But they got over it quickly enough and continued to play with Honey and Socks, who got along really well.

The girls whispered and giggled as Kai handed Karen a box.

"Happy birthday." He mumbled, and something else was uttered that sounded like, "for, uh, winter and stuff like that… Y'know?" She nodded and opened the box.

Inside, were a pink, grey, and green knit set: a hat with a pom-pom and braided ties, mitts, and a tasseled scarf.

She said an even shier, "thank you Kai."

**Now,****a****quick****warning:****there****'****s****a****bunch****more****of****that****sappy****stuff****coming****up.****I****just****can****'****t****resist!**

Karen was happy that she didn't feel like she needed to act different around Kai, he was friendly and polite, and best of all, he could make her laugh. He was doing so for the millionth time when his father came from the kitchen and told them that they had to get back to Mineral Town before dark, so they needed to get going now.

They went outside to say a little more private goodbyes, (which weren't really so because everyone was watching the young pair through the window) and just when they were walking away, Karen ran up and kissed him, full on the mouth. Her foot "popped" and she put her arms around her neck and he wrapped his around her waist. And that was Karen's first kiss. _Now__what__the__heck__made__me__do__that?_ She thought, but didn't pay much attention to it. (Their parents looked away, but they were smiling.)

**Through****Kai****'****s****eyes****again.****(Still****can****'****t****help****it!)****;)**

She was a gorgeous girl, with a gorgeous personality, and he didn't feel the need to act flash =y or strut about, like some boys were doing (Rock). He wouldn't have anyway, but he didn't feel like she expected him to. She wasn't clingy or overemotional or even a bit dramatic. His father at last came up and said that it was time for what he was dreading: goodbye.

She giggled as he one last joke that he'd expected her to have heard a thousand times. He felt a strange need to make her laugh. It was one of the best sounds he'd ever heard, and found it a sudden nessesity.

Then she came up, not even shy or anything, and kissed him! Her arms twined up and around his neck and he couldn't help but pull her closer, putting his arms around her waist. Right in front of their parents! Though he only thought of that later. The only thing that had been going through his mind was, well. His brain was too busy concentrating on not exploding. What probably would have been there was: _She__'__s__kissing__me!__Oh__my__god,__she__'__s__kissing__me!_

"Bye." She whispered, her forehead resting on his.

"See ya 'round." He said as he walked off in a daze, his father, smiling and chuckling, lead him along the path.

In side he could just hear Rock over the girls screaming, "OMIGOD!"

"If I'd ever tried that, her dad would have killed me! But no! Kai kisses her and he just smiles!" He complained. And Kai couldn't help but smile.

**I****hope****that****was****an****okay****chapter.****I****know****they****aren****'****t****supposed****to****meet****until****the****30****th****of****May****(Spring)****but****I****couldn****'****t****help****it!****That****was****still**_**WAY**_**too****sappy,****please****forgive****me!****Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

** Hi! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry this took so long, but I don't really think anyone was waiting for it very much. Sorry! Well, here it is. I hope you like it. I'm not very good at writing sad scenes, but I still like them.**

** Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harvest Moon ideas, just a copy of the video game. :)**

One night, January 11th, if you want to go into details, the family was watching TV, Mark and Grace on the couch, Karen on the floor with Honey, and Socks curled up in the big armchair. Outside in the stable, Sugar, Karen's two-year-old filly was asleep between Jake and Ginger. (Ginger was the only mare Jake would go with, which Karen found incredibly sweet). Overall, a pretty peaceful night.

Suddenly, Honey started growling and there as a loud banging at the door. Then, a man with silver hair and a scar across is cheek burst in.

"Nobody move!" He shouted, holding up a knife with a shining eight inch blade.

Karen froze in fear, Honey, still growling, ran out the door and Socks hissed and leapt behind the couch. Karen's parents remained still as well.

The thief spotted Karen's diamond necklace shimmering on it's chain, and got a wild gleam in his eye. He began

Mark pulled Grace down beside Karen and jumped in front of them. "No!" He yelled forcefully "You will not touch them."

The bandit paused, then advanced again. Mark lunged at him and he stuck his knife into Mark's stomach. Karen screamed, and as Mark fell at his feet, he ran out the door.

Karen and her mother ran over to Mark. "Grace, Karen, are you two okay?" He asked weakly, barely able to open his eyes.

"We're fine." Grace reassured him.

"Daddy, you can't. Please don't leave us." Karen sobbed as blood pooled around them and his breath came in wheezes.

"Grace..." He said, reaching for her hand. She took it and held it tightly. "You'll never guess how much I love you. Thank you for such a wonderful life, everything I could have ever asked for." He sighed, leaned up and kissed her for the last time.

All that time, Karen had been whispering "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." He silenced her by gently taking her hand.

"Karen, I'm so sorry. I have to go." He sighed, and winced.

"Daddy, you can't! There's still so much you have to teach me! Mama and I need you, what will we do without you?" She cried desperately, forcing out the word "will"

"I love you so much. I'll never leave you. Be strong. My amazing Grace, my gorgeous girl, Karen. I'm going to miss you." He smiled, and wheezed his last breath.

Grace closed his eyes just as the rest of the village came running up the road to the farm, Honey in the lead, barking like crazy.

They stopped at the door. "We're too late." Someone whispered.

Karen rose, tears streaming down her cheeks, her breath coming in quick, short gasps. "Where were you?" She screamed at them. "Where were you when your friend was being killed?" Then with one final, desperate, screamed sob, she ran into the darkness, to a place she knew well and she had hardly ever been there without her father; the stable.

The smell of the hay that she had buried herself in only made her cry more. She heard a small whimpering sound and found Honey crawling into her lap, and Sugar nuzzled her cheek.

"I miss him so much already. What am I going to do?" She sobbed, hugging them both tightly, tears running silently down her face.

It was then that she swore if she never saw this valley again, it would be too soon. She could never live there again, it would be far too painful.

**Well, how did you like that chapter? It's pretty sad I think. My friend said that he talked too much, so I cut out a bunch. I hope he still didn't talk too much. Please tell me. Kay, bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

** Hey everybody! It's me again! So, This should be a pretty good chapter. But it'll probably be a long one too. It also might be a bit idiotic and stupid, but it's how I've decided my version of the character deals with grief.**

**Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is the best game ever, and all hail whoever invented it, but it's not me.**

The next month, Karen and her mother moved to Mineral Town. They took Socks, the kitten that seemed quite sad. Honey, the playful puppy who didn't want to leave her home, Jake, who was devastated by his master's death, his family (Sugar and Ginger) as well, and a few other possessions.

They sold the farm to some distant relatives and left.

**Hey, just had an idea, call it a moment of sudden inspiration. Y'know when I did moments through Kai in chapter 3? Well, I'm gonna do that again, kinda sorta**

Kai didn't know if she'd remember him, the boy who'd just walked in on her birthday party. That was two years ago, but he remembered her. His feelings may have changed a little though; He just wanted to see her as a friend.

But when he got up to the ranch, the fields were overgrown with weeds, there were no animals in the old barns or chickens clucking about, the house wasn't the same either, it was much smaller.

He saw a man walk around the side of an old cow shed and survey it carefully. He went up and asked the man where the owner of the farm and his family were.

"I'm the owner, me and my family live not too far away in the mountains. This is just a little summer home." Kai gave him a confused look, "Oh, you must be lookin' for Mark. Didn't ya hear the news?"

Kai shook his head.

"The family got robbed 'bout a year back and the guy had a knife and, well, Mark had to protect his wife and kid, but..." The man looked away. "Y'know."

"Oh. I'm very sorry for your loss. My father will be very sad too." Kai imagined the look on his father's face when he told him. "Do you know where his family moved?"

"Nope, sorry kid. Hey, I sure could use some help tearin' down these ol' buildings, I already remodeled the house. Are you busy?" The man asked.

Kai replied that he was and left for Mineral town where he and his parents lived.

**So, that just added to an all ready big chapter, but I still think it was good.**

They boarded the horses at Yodel Ranch, for 100G a month, a reasonably low price.

Then, after a healthy year of love and caring, Old Jake (as they'd come to call him) got quite sick. Karen cared for him and came and saw him every day, but as it is with all nature, he had to pass on. Karen cried all night long and it seemed that it had almost been him that had kept her sanity, the only part of her father that she could cling to.

Despite the sadness that was eating her away inside, Karen blossomed into a beautiful young woman, boys would take one look at her and show up at her door with flowers the next, but she was a cruel girl.

A boy's heart would become just another new toy to her. She would have her fun, and break their hearts when she felt they started asking for too much. All of the Mineral Town boys, and even some from other towns!

_I've hurt. _She thought, _why shouldn't they?_

The boys though, thought that, besides her father dying, she had a pretty good life, but they didn't know that she cried herself to sleep every other night.

She was still a nice girl, despite what she did to the boys, kindhearted and sweet. It was just buried and hidden beneath the hurt and shock (shock at her dad's death).

When people from the valley visited Mineral Town, they could hardly believe that she was the innocent, sweet girl they'd known.

Before anyone knew it, Karen was turning 18. She woke up automatically at 6:00 am. "I'm 18." She whispered, and was overcome by such sadness, she was sure she would die.

She broke down and was racked with sobs. She sank down on to the floor and held her knees and cried and cried.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and some of her father's last words filled her ears: "I will never leave you." They echoed through the room.

She stood up and promised herself that she would be happy and strong, just for him. She would apologize to all those boys, real, genuine apologies. She would make friends with all the girls in town; Mary, Ann, Karen (the girl from the store), she would invite them all to her birthday party. First though, she would have to get permission from her mother.

"Mama, can I have a party tonight?" Karen asked as she munched on her 18 pancakes. Her mother had been so caring and loyal, even though Karen had been so horrible.

"I suppose so." Said her mother after Karen told her she would do all the cooking and cleaning.

"Mama, I know I've been a jerk the past three years, and I know I've said sorry before, but I really do mean this time. I'm so sorry. Daddy being gone is hurting you too. And I didn't think of it that way before. I love you so much Mama, and I don't know if I could ever farm again, he loved it so much, and it wouldn't be the same without him."

It was amazing how fast everyone forgave her. Really forgave her. The boys, she was more careful with. But they forgave her, all the same.

She had quite a large amount of money due to the vegetable garden she'd just managed to keep alive, and after she'd bought all the food and a few decorations, she bought her mother a gold watch.

Her outfit consisted of a white skirt, hot pink sleeveless top, and black boots.

When she and the other guests got home, they received quite a surprise: Celia was waiting for them. "Celia!" Karen screamed as she hugged her friend.

"Aunty Vesta had to come to town and sell some vegetables, so I came with her to wish you a happy birthday." Her best friend explained.

They talked and Celia went on and on about her newfound joy in vegetable farming.

"So, Karen, will you be moving out this year?" Asked Grey. "Isn't it your family's tradition for the kids to move out when they're 18?"

Karen replied lightly that she'd never liked traditions, and that she'd probably miss her mom's pancakes too much. They all laughed, and didn't mention it again.

She was glad. The truth was she'd wanted to keep the tradition, but she didn't know what she could do. If her father was alive, her future would be fixed, and she would be happy about it.

She'd thought about that often. If her father was still alive. But again, she shook her head and told herself _Well he's not, is he? So stop thinking about it._

After her guests left, she took a walk down to the beach to "catch the sunset".

She walked slowly along the shoreline, waiting for the sun to slip into the water with the mermaids.

She briefly looked down and saw some writing in the sand up ahead. She walked to it, and saw the messy scrawl she knew so well scratched deep into the wet ground: "Happy Birthday"

She looked up to see a blindingly beautiful flash of colour. Orange, magenta, red, and even some quick touches of green.

"Thank you Daddy." She whispered.

**Well, that was the longest chapter I have written yet. Are they supposed to be that long? I think they are, maybe longer! Oh, anyway, see ya. ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's where she finds out she has to farm, because her mother is making her. Oops! Was I supposed to tell you that? Oh well.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, but if anyone knows how I can get it, feel free to tell me!**

"I'll be back around 6:00. Be good. Love you!" Karen's mother shouted as she left for the valley.

"Kay! Love you more!" Karen yelled back as she waved from the house.

Yesterday, a couple weeks after her birthday, her mother had told her that she had to go to the valley for business reasons. Karen didn't have a problem with that, the people in the valley were kind and they all knew her, so they had nothing to fear.

Karen had a job at Gotz Construction, and she went to work as usual. She didn't complain, all she did was make Gotz his lunch and did some various errands for him while he was busy building things for people. (The lunch was just a thoughtful gesture at first, but she did it regularly now since he paid her an extra 5G.)

She didn't mind her job, such little work for 20G an hour for five hours, but she knew it wasn't her life's calling.

She had macaroni and cheese on the stove when her mother got home, looking relieved.

"Have a pleasant journey Mama?" Karen asked as she spooned supper into two bowls.

"Yes, quite tiring though. I'm very happy that business went smoothly." Her mother said as she sat down and began to eat.

They sat down after supper by the fire, Socks jumped onto the couch and curled up beside Karen, who began stroking him absentmindedly.

Karen, what are you going to do? I know you aren't the kind to rely on your husband to support you.

"I don't know Mama." Karen replied, vaguely wondering where this conversation was going, but she didn't much care, because she was full and a bit sleepy and not quite paying attention.

"Well, you didn't really seem to be doing anything about it, so I, I went to see the Harvest Goddess." Her mother flinched, as if she expected Karen explode or something.

"Uh huh, and?" Karen urged. The Harvest Goddess was in charge of all the young farmers and ranchers in the area, so she was slightly more interested.

Her mother took a deep breath "Well, I threw my hair clip with the bit of diamond in the pond and she came up and asked what I wanted."

"Yes, and then?" Karen asked, she decided that this just might be something to worry about.

"I told her that you showed a lot of promise and that you would make an excellent, well..." Her mother looked worried, even scared.

"I told her you would make an excellent farmer or rancher!" Her mother said all at once.

"You didn't!" Karen jumped up, Socks sliding off her lap and landing with a thud and a hiss on the floor.

"Sit down sweetheart. Please don't be mad. I told her that your father died and you probably wouldn't want to do this, but I told her the truth. I told her you needed to." Her mother started to cry. "She promised to help you, she promised to help you enjoy it, to work with passion."

Karen raged and screamed, "What's wrong with you? Do you know how that hurt me? Don't tell me, just go on and do it! Why not? God, I **hate** you!" She yelled.

She ran up to her room, slammed the door, and locked it. Without thinking, not even knowing what she was doing, she began to pack. She knew she would go in the end, so there was no reason to fight it. The more violently she threw objects into her suitcases, the better she felt.

Karen went downstairs to find her mother crying. She put her arm around her shoulders.

"Where is it?" she asked

"It's our old farm. They built a new house, and tore down all the animal sheds, but there's that peach tree your father planted, and a lot of room for crops." Please don't be mad. Here." She said, handing her a slip of paper and wiping away her tears.

On the paper, it said:

This certificate legally certifies that Karen Anne Verana is hereby the owner of _, area code T8K 9H3 in the town of Forget-Me-Not Valley and may legally sell/occupy/use the property in any respect they choose. On the date of October 13th, 1986. _

"What's with the blank lines?" She asked, looking it over.

"I didn't know if you would want to give the ranch a new name, so I left it blank. And the other is for your signature." Said her mother.

Karen thought a moment. K.K. Ranch. That's what her father had always called it. She and her mother were the only ones, besides him, who knew what the K.K. stood for, so Karen decided to keep the name, but lose the abbreviation and the "ranch".

She wrote in her nicest writing on the line (in the same ink) Kritter Korner, and on the next, she signed her name.

"Thanks Mama. I'm sorry I got mad at you." She said, "I'll try, but don't be too disappointed if I can't do it."

"It will be hard I know, but I have faith in you." Her mother hugged her, "You'll leave in three days."

Karen agreed with a small sigh, "Yes Mama."

And in three days, she had all her things packed and all her goodbyes said.

"Don't take Sugar yet. You might not have enough money to care for her." Said her mother, so an arrangement was made that 33G would be taken from Karen's account each month, to pay for Sugar's boarding.

As Karen sat in the cart going down to the Valley, she looked back at the road to Mineral Town. She was going to a new home. Or, was she simply coming back home from a very long visit? Had she ever loved Mineral Town as much as she loved Forget-Me-Not Valley? Had she ever called it, home?

She arrived at Vesta's Farm, where Celia now worked, and the Harvest Goddess was waiting patiently for her. She guided the cart, but the man driving it didn't seem to see her.

They drove all the way up to the door of the new farmhouse; it was much smaller than the house that had been there.

"Thank you." Said Karen, and handed the driver 50G for the ride.

He nodded and with a smile, was off.

"Get some sleep." Said the Harvest Goddess as Karen turned around, "You'll need your rest, we start work tomorrow."

**Well, end chapter six. WOW, I can't tell if I'm getting better or worse at this. Thanks so much to the 3 people who reviewed, it lets me know how I'm doing, and that people actually read this! :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my gosh, if people are even reading this, I'm so sorry I forgot about this for like half a year! I just sort of forgot about it *_*'. I'm sorry! Please forgive me! Kay. Well, Here's the what is it, 7th chapter? Huh. I thought it would take forever to get to this chapter. Well, it kinda did. But whatever. **

**Disclaimer: don't own Harvest Moon, and well, that's it.**

_I knew it._ Karen sobbed internally as she took the weeds from the ground in her new farm. She did about a quarter of them, leaving them lying on the ground, and went inside.

She didn't work, she knew she didn't. She did feel more at home here though. _If I had a reason to work, maybe I would enjoy it more._

One morning, about a month and a half after she'd moved to her ranch, she was fresh out of hope and work ethic. She ignored the Goddess' wake up call and fell into an even deeper sleep.

She heard the Harvest Goddess talking to the Sprites. Then, there was a loud male voice. At that she almost got up, thinking there might be a crazy weirdo with a superiority complex in her house.

The Harvest Goddess soon countered the strange voice, so she fell back asleep. The Goddess and the Sprites would protect her.

Their angry conversation carried on in the muted tones of her mind, backdrop characters to her dream of romance in summertime.

Suddenly, she was jolted awake by the sound of breaking glass and a scream. She fell back into the warm and comfortable state that was between sleep and awareness as some of the Harvest Sprites continued to argue with the weirdo voice.

Suddenly, there were no more of the familiar, slightly squeaky voices of the Sprites, then, the weirdo's voice began to talk softly, in a tone of regret. Then, as suddenly as he had come, he went away.

"Wake up." Said a voice that was cruel and knowing, but distinctly feminine.

She grumbled, "Five more minutes."

But the voice was persistent, and continued.

"Wake up." It demanded, and Karen could hear a threat behind the voice, so she forced her eyes to open, and her mind to be alert.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. There was a woman standing there, 3 or 4 years older than Karen, if she was right, but seemed much older.

"Oh good, you're awake." The woman smiled, though there was nothing particularly warm or friendly about it.

"Here." She said, shoving a letter at her. It was sealed the old fashioned way, with wax. The seal was some stocks of wheat, crossed, with a crown over it.

She opened the letter carefully, but quickly Her eyebrows raised in disbelief, then she read it again.

_So it was the Harvest King in my bedroom. I hope he doesn't find out I thought he was a weirdo with a superiority complex._ She thought, feeling the blush rise to her face.

The letter said that because I was lazy-the nerve of that guy, well, I was only a bit lazy.- he had banished the Harvest Goddess and Harvest Sprites to another world. Only two left, blah, blah, blah. He'd also turned the Harvest Goddess to stone -over reacting much - and if I didn't work-growing crops and raising animals and stuff-They would never be free. I knew the P.S., even though it wasn't written: You'll disgrace your father. You wouldn't want that, _would you_?

She heard her father's voice. It was a discussion they'd had when she was around 12 years old:

"Remember Karen, if you've got something to work for, work as hard as you can, so you can achieve it. If you don't, there might be awful consequences.

"Okay Daddy. I promise to work as hard as I can." She'd said, so innocent and naive, ready to believe anything he said and live by it like a law.

_But I did promise him... And a promise is a promise. _She contemplated, and then, she had it! Her reason to work!

"It's going to be lonely without someone to argue with. I'm counting on you!" Said the woman, then she disappeared.

"All right! I've got to work my hardest to save the Harvest Goddess and Sprites!" She stood up and put her fist in the air, there was the sound of fireworks, and the moment was over.

"That was weird." She said as she pulled her boots on. "Where the heck did that come from?"

She went outside and met a fat, balding man in a bad suit at her door.

He was the mayor of Mineral Town, yeah, yeah, rock paper scissors match, which he lost, told her how to ship stuff, blah, blah, blah. Like she wasn't the daughter of the best farmer in the valley.

She plowed the ground and sowed some turnip seeds. Then she bought some potato seeds, along with strawberry and cucumber.

**Well, that's that then. So, it took me forever to get to the start of the game, dunno if that's annoying or okay. Either way, I'm there now. So, TTFN! (that's Ta Ta For Now, for the people who are stupid enough to now have watched Winnie The Pooh before)**


	8. Chapter 8

**HI! I need some help here. I'm sure there are a bunch of**

**things that could help improve this story quite a bit, but the thing that bugs me most is that my character – Karen – is completely flat and predictable. She is really perfect, which she shouldn't be. No one is smart and kind and gorgeous at the same time. But somehow, she is, and I'd like to fix that. Does anyone have any pointers for me to make her more realistic/interesting? All advice is greatly appreciated!**

**Disclaimer:**** Harvest Moon isn't mine, I wish it was, but it's not, so oh well.**

Karen sighed as she got up, farm work got a bit boring after the first week. Even Honey didn't want to play with her ball.

She didn't exactly want to go visit the people in the village, a lot of them had been kind of rude when she'd gone to give them friendly "hello"'s and tell them Kritter Korner was back in business.

But, she decided that it was probably the best thing to do, they might have been joking. Maybe they didn't know she had been offended.

Either way, live and let live ... or die... or something like that. So, she went down the path to the valley.

She was pleased that everyone was much nicer this time, and that, as she walked about, she even freed a few sprites.

_It'll be summer before I know it. I have to plan when to harvest my crops so the timing is just right. _Karen thought as she carefully watered the last turnips of the season. She picked her strawberries tenderly, as not to damage anything. "Quality is first, but appearance is a close second." Her dad had always said.

She'd missed the festival on the first day of spring, she'd been busy planting crops and such, no one had given her a cookie on the 14th, and the duck festival had been pretty boring because she didn't have any ducks. The cooking festival was fun, because everyone got to eat really good food. Except for Karen's (the girl from the supermarket).

On the 28th of May, she harvested the last of her crops, and cut down the rest with her scythe.

"Next month is June guys!" she said happily as she woke up on May 30th. "That means summer. Finally!" Karen had been anticipating this for a week, because it was always nice to have that change that keeps you out of a rut, even is it's just a change of season and crops.

She got dressed, and heard what she thought was a knock on her door. "That's weird. Nobody ever visits us." She went to answer it.

There was a young man standing there, he looked about her age, if a little taller. He had dark brown hair and tanned skin. His eyes were a sweet brown, and a friendly smile crossed his lips.

"Uh, hello." She said with wide eyes. Could it really be Kai?

**If you're not sensing familiarity here, either you have a bad memory or I'm not doing a very good job. I'm probably going to do this often, so it's just going to be 3 stars now.**

Kai walked up the path to the farm. He'd heard that some girl from Mineral Town had moved in to try and start a ranch. But he'd also heard things against the girl (that she was lazy). _No one could make that land flourish like Mark._ He thought. _Except maybe Karen._

He decided that she would most likely see him in the summer, so it was only polite to introduce himself and welcome her to the valley.

So he was there, he felt his face heat a bit when he found himself wondering what this girl may look like, and how she wouldn't be as pretty as the girl who'd lived here before. But whatever.

So he walked up to the door and rapped on it with his fist. He heard the barking of a dog, and the faint murmur of a female voice coming from inside. A young woman, obviously the new owner, answered the door.

Her thick hair was a wonderful chocolate brown, and it was tied up in a ponytail that stuck out on top of her head. Her eyes were such a sweet purple that he thought perhaps God had taken a bit out of the sunset, a bit from the violets that bloomed on the path from Mineral Town, and maybe even from that beautiful amethyst that Grey brought back from the mines every so often, just to make those eyes and give a good day to whoever saw them. They were distinctly familiar.

"Um, hello." She said in a voice that he vaguely remembered from some years back, but maybe a little different. He couldn't believe it. This was too good to be true. He didn't believe it. But then he looked at her eyes again. They were the same.

They were bashful and friendly, there was that hint of "I know what you're thinking" still in them. It was all there. But when he looked closely, he could see a distinct maturity (because there was no other word for it), it was one that could only be caused by pain, or sadness. And he could guess what that was from.

He figured that she probably didn't remember him, so he should introduce himself all over again.

As Karen stood there, thinking that perhaps someone had somehow drugged her breakfast, because Kai couldn't be standing in front of her right now, said young man began to speak.

"Hey, Karen right? I'm Kai." He said, smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.

Karen nodded and wanted to tell him it was her and ask him why he was acting like he didn't know her, but he began to speak again before she could say anything.

"I can't stand the cold, so I only come here in the summer." _I know that._ Thought Karen, but shook his outstretched hand anyway, "Nice to meet you." He continued.

"I'm opening up a stand at the beach tomorrow. To advertise it I'm going to make it all-you-can-eat tomorrow, so come by." He put his hands in his pockets and kept smiling.

She wanted to tell him that wild horses couldn't drag her away from seeing an old friend, but she just nodded. "Sure. Sounds great."

"See ya." He said as he walked away. And Karen remembered a scene like this from when she was 15. She didn't want to kiss him again, but she wanted to tell him that she missed him at least.

"Did you see that, Honey?" she asked her dog, who was scampering around her as she watered her crops, "that was Kai." And she knew that she wasn't doing anything tomorrow, as of five minutes ago.

**Okay! That was a pretty long chapter. I don't exactly think that it was one of the best, but I hope it was still good. I would LOVE if you could help me with the character thing. Thanx!**


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